I grew up watching many educational programs on PBS and am very thankful for them. Even now, I will try to catch the good programs on PBS when I get the chance. The latest show I saw was Nova’s, “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives“. Somehow that show has been on my mind even long after it’s over.
The show was not just about science. It’s the story of Mark Everett and his journey to learn more about his father. Mark (also known as E) is part of the indie rock band - the Eels. Mark never got to know too much about his father. He was only 18 when he lost him.
Mark’s father, Hugh Everett III, considered to be a brilliant scientist who came up with the radical “many worlds theory” of quantum mechanics.
My father never, ever said anything to me about his theories. I was in the same house with him for at least 18 years but he was a total stranger to me. He was in his own parallel universe. He was a physical presence, like the furniture, sitting there jotting down crazy notations at the dining room table night after night. I think he was deeply disappointed that he knew he was a genius but the rest of the world didn’t know it. - Mark Everett.
Other family tragedies soon followed Mark later in his life. Including the loss of his only sibling (a sister) and then of his mother. Despite the family tragedy, I think he turned to his music and found the silver lining of it all.
You can also sense that he has a good heart and a healthy sense of humor. The show is more then just about science, it’s about family, understanding, and finally acceptance.
Well, you have to have a sense of humor. It came from my family. That was how we communicated. Nobody never said “I love you” or anything like that. It was more jokey sarcastic family, that was how we communicated.
The simple science part:
Basically, everything is made up of atoms. Consisting of protons and electrons. They can be at two places at one time. And since we are made of atoms, why can’t we be at two places at the same time? Welcome to the Quantum World.
The idea is that there are multiple universes and all possiblities are possible. The same question is still being discussed, especially among philosophers. Being that it feels like we live in a strange and mysterious universe, anything is possible.
If you miss it on PBS NOVA, you can catch it again on YOUTUBE - part 1 to 6. (Before it’s removed). Produced by BBC FOUR, the trailer here. It’s a great show worth watching. I also like the dog, Bobby, very cute and loves to howl when Mark sings!
Below is an interview with journalist Peter Byrne, who is writing an authorized biography of Everett. I just thought these concepts were the best part of the interview with NOVA.
Peter Byrne: I’ve talked to any number of experimental physicists, and these guys are not philosophically oriented. They’re very interested in getting results by manipulating elementary particles in certain ways—say, to make a quantum computer—but to do this, they almost have to take a dualistic attitude towards what’s going on in the elementary particle world. Don Eigler at IBM told me recently, “When I look at an electron from a distance, it’s a particle. When I look it up really close, it’s a wave.” Electrons and all elementary particles behave dualistically—as waves sometimes and as particles sometimes—depending on the environment that they’re in, and your point of view.
NOVA: Even after he gave up on quantum mechanics, Everett did a lot of useful work, right?
Byrne: Oh yeah. Mostly he spent his time writing groundbreaking computer programs. He invented databases that gave the theoretical foundation for relational software like Oracle and PeopleSoft, stuff like that. Other people later took those ideas and found a way to make millions—but that’s another story. He invented an algorithm called the Everett Algorithm that is still in use today. It’s a method of maximizing use of resources. You can also use it to design anti-ballistic missile systems.
Everett also wrote one of the classic military game theory papers of all time in his first year as a grad student at Princeton. In fact, it’s such a remarkable paper that when one of the founders of game theory, Harold Kuhn, put out a book 10 years ago on the greatest of all game theory papers, he included Everett’s paper. Everett’s game theory work, his work in logic with the algorithm that he invented, his work in quantum mechanics, his work in developing software—all these things are still impacting science and computation today.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Good music from the Eels:
11:32 pm on May 27th, 2009
I’d like this one. I read something about this once about a monk that was stranded at a town in Thailand due to a flood and he had to get to a ceremony that day. When he finally arrived, it was the day after the ceremony and his students were asking him where he went after the ceremony, he didn’t know what they were talking about. So,they took the film to develop, and in the picture there was an empty spot where he stood.
He couldn’t explain it himself, apparently he was at 2 places at the same time, very fascinating, now only if I could do that.
11:09 pm on May 29th, 2009
That is a neat story. The closest thing I can think of for parallel worlds is from “The Chronicles of Narnia”. The kids enter the wardrobe and walk into a whole new world. The story may just have some truths to it!
It’s neat to think the possibilities are endless.
7:03 pm on July 30th, 2009
[...] exist and Earth is not the only place. Scientists may not accept this idea, but the the theory of Parallel Universe is pretty close to the same [...]
10:41 am on April 11th, 2010
[...] guess that explains many of his songs. Kind of reminds me of the guy from the Eels [...]